Jessica

Jessica Alba, Jessica Chastain, Jessica Biel: There’s no shortage of Jessicas who’ve distinguished themselves in entertainment today. But the name goes way back: In 1596, William Shakespeare presumably coined the name, basing it on Iscah, a biblical name spelled Jescha in his day, and used it for Shylock’s daughter in “The Merchant of Venice.” The Hebrew name Yiskah means “clairvoyance.” A favorite in the US for more than 100 years, it dominated the naming charts in the 1980 and '90s and is still well-loved.